Shadowsong's Beginning
by Shadowsong of PhoenixClan
Summary: Shadowsong is deputy of PhoenixClan, but how did she and her clan begin? This story answers both if those questions. Please R&R!
1. Allegiances, tiny prologue&chapter 1

**I do not own Warriors, their clans, or their cats.**

Allegiances:

The four main clans have the same cats that they had at the end of A Last Hope

Early (chapter 1) PhoenixClan:

Leader: Moonstar- Silver grey she-cat

_apprentice: Shadowpaw- black she-cat with vibrant blue eyes_

**?'s POV**

It was dark. Rain beat down on her, and frost was slowly covering her pelt. She wasn't going to make it.

**Moonstar's POV**

Moonstar stalked in this foreign land. It was seemingly uninhibited, but cat yowls echoed across the lake. She stood on a hidden island in the lake, in the pouring, drenching rain. She had circled around its edge for days, and there was no sign of any cat life. She penetrated the invisible wall dividing her from the uncharted territory, and entered the forest. She heard a soft noise... It was like a kitten, faintly mewing. She raced through the forest and came into a clearing. In the center, a black mound sat. It was a young kitten, who had just opened its eyes. On the tips of its fur frost had formed. "Oh you poor thing," Moonstar said, "Where is your mother? I believe she deserves a strict talking to." The kitten mewed, and Moonstar knew what she must do. "Come here you poor thing, I'll keep you warm."

**Shadowpaw's POV**

Shadowpaw looked at Moonstar. "Going already?" she mewed. Moonstar looked back at her and nodded. The island was deserted, and their small camp was the only sign of life on it. Recently, there had been tremors on the island, and the blue-grey cat was starting to worry. She decided that she would travel to the mainland and search for a temporary home there. Shadowpaw didn't want to be left alone, but it had to be done. She sat on the shore, and said her goodbyes as Moonstar padded into the lake. When she padded back to camp, a tremor spread across the ground and encircled her. The fragile dirt gave way, and Shadowpaw fell down into a large underground cavern. She was trapped, and there was no one around to save her. "Help!" she mewed... But no one could hear her.


	2. Sinkholes and Clan homes

**I do not own Warriors, their cats, or their clans.**

**Moonstar's POV**

Moonstar shuddered. She felt like something was wrong. Was Shadowpaw safe back at the island? Was everything okay? What if a tremor happened while she was gone? What if it was the worst yet?! Moonstar couldn't handle it. She raced back towards the island. She didn't stop running until she reached their small camp. She skidded to a halt, gaping at the sinkhole at her feet. "Shadowpaw!" Moonstar screamed, her blue-grey fur ruffled by fear. "H-here" a small voice squeaked. Moonstar peered down in the hole and there, nestled among the rubble, was a small black shape- Shadowpaw! Moonstar scrambled down the sinkhole's sides and rushed to help Shadowpaw up. "What happened?" Moonstar questioned, "Are you all right?" "Fine," the apprentice replied, "but the ground crumbling like that sure scared me." Moonstar purred to comfort the young cat "It's okay, the tremors are over now." They stared at the surroundings in the gaping hole. There seemed to be caves where dens could reside and in the center of the sinkhole a small, twisted sapling grew, unfazed by the crumbling debris. 'This could be a clan,' Moonstar thought,'but. . . If Moonclan settles here. . . No, we can't see the sky. We have to be able to gaze at the moon' "Moonstar?" Shadowpaw mewed, "Can this be our new home? It's perfect, with the shelter of the cave walls, and the cave dens. The tree would also provide shelter. All we would need to do would be patch up the hole and carve out an entrance tunnel!" Moonstar looked at the apprentice in awe 'She's right!' the leader realized, 'but that no home for the cats of the moon. Still, we won't have to sleep in the open without a den.' "Fine," she agreed, "but we'll have to work very hard on cleaning up this cavern." Shadowpaw merely mewed, "Okay!"

**Shadowpaw's POV**

Shadowpaw slashed at Moonstar. "Good job," her mentor purred, "but it needs to be a bit more swift. Like this!" The she-cat slashed at the apprentice. "See how I don't pause before the swipe? Your enemy won't see it coming." The apprentice copied the movement. "Like this?" Shadowpaw mewed. "Yes! Exactly!" Moonstar meowed in joy. Days and weeks passed this way, until the day finally came. "Let my apprentice come to the foot of the twisted tree," Moonstar yowled. The young tree had grown rapidly in the past eight months. Shadowpaw padded up to it's roots. "I, Moonstar, leader of MoonClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on my apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I comment her to you as a warrior in her turn," Moonstar meowed, "Shadowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" The apprentice replied, "I do." "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name," the leader meowed, "Shadowpaw, from this moment you will be known as Shadowsong. StarClan honors your courage and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of the Clan of the Twisted Tree." "Moonstar," the new warrior mewed, "how about PhoenixClan?" Moonstar considered it, and the meowed "We welcome you as a full warrior of PhoenixClan." The leader rested her muzzle on Shadowsong's head, and the warrior licked her former mentor's shoulder. "Shadowsong! Shadowsong!" the two cats meowed in joy. The new warrior sat at the newly carved tunnel, fulfilling her silent vigil. Soon, the sun rose, and the tired warrior yawned. Shadowsong's vigil was over. She had stayed awake the whole night, guarding the camp. The day dragged on, until at twilight, when both sun and moon were present in the sky, Moonstar yowled,"Let Shadowsong join me for a Clan meeting!" The warrior padded up to the base of the twisted tree. "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice," the leader boldly meowed, " The first deputy of PhoenixClan is Shadowsong." Suddenly, the sky exploded into cool, rainbow lights, dancing across the sky. The two cats gazed up through the large hole above them in awe. "Is StarClan. . . Mad?" Shadowsong mewed. "No," Moonstar replied, "but I have never seen this before." Shadowsong looked at the dancing lights, and suddenly her pure black pelt became lightly dusted with stars. Moonstar watched, amazed, as the small glowing speckles coated the deputy. "We deem you worthy," voices whispered from the sky, "you are now the deputy of PhoenixClan, and we grant you eternal health. We realize that you wish not to be leader, young one, do not fret." A star-pelted cat appeared behind the leader, and whispered to her, "Moonstar, we know your goal, and that you can't stay here forever. Do not worry." The lights slowly faded into the black night.


	3. New Members

**I do not own Warriors, their cats, or their clans.**

**Moonstar's POV**

Moonstar groaned. She had been feeling quite sore for a while, as if she had eaten a bad mouse. The leader curled up in her nest, and was about to rest her head when Shadowsong burst in. "Moonstar! A lone cat has arrived!" she yowled. "What is its request?" the groggy leader replied. "A place to stay for her and her kits," Shadowsong answered, "They want to join PhoenixClan!" Moonstar bolted to greet them. "My name's Thunder, and these are my kits, Phoenix, Silver and Fawn," the she-cat said, pointing at a fiery orange tom with bright green eyes, a silvery tom with pale green eyes, and a pale brown she-cat, who had eyes like her mother. Thunder had silver-grey fur with dark stripes and pale yellow eyes. "We have been traveling, searching for a home, but each Clan we've come to has rejected us," Thunder meowed, "Please, can we join your Clan?" Moonstar purred, "Of course!" The PhoenixClan cats led the newcomers to the foot of the twisted tree, where they performed the naming ceremony. "Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the name from the cats you see before you, for it no longer stands for what they are," Moonstar yowled, "By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name. From this moment on, they will be known as Thundermoon, Phoenixpaw, Silverpaw and Fawnpaw for they are no longer wandering loners, but fully accepted clan cats." The leader turned to Shadowsong, and said "Shadowsong, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from me, and you have shown yourself to be courageous and intelligent. You will be the mentor of Silverpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." The mentor and apprentice touched noses, following the tradition of the clans. The leader turned to Thundermoon, and they nodded. "I am the only cat with enough experience with herbs to be a Medicine cat, but my destiny is that of a warrior's. For this reason, I have chosen to mentor my daughter, Fawnpaw," Thundermoon meowed. Moonstar looked at the young cat and said, "Fawnpaw, do you accept the post of apprentice to Thundermoon?" The pale brown she-cat replied, "I do." "Then at the half-moon, you must travel to the Moonpool to be accepted by StarClan before the other medicine cats," Thundermoon stated. "The good wishes of all PhoenixClan will go with you," the leader meowed, "And last but not least, Phoenixpaw. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be mentored by me. I hope I can pass down all I know on to you." Moonstar touched noses with her new apprentice.

**No POV?**

Days passed, each mentor training their apprentice. Soon, the day of the half-moon came. "Good luck!" the other cats meowed to Thundermoon and Fawnpaw, watching them swim towards the lakeside. When the two cats reached shore, they got up and started walking to the Moonpool. They attended in secret, hiding the fact that PhoenixClan existed. "Fawnpaw," Thundermoon whispered, "is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?" "It is," the young cat replied. "Then come forward," her mentor meowed, "Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will." Fawnpaw lapped water from the Moonpool, and laid down to dream.

**Fawnpaw's dream. . . POV?**

She saw the moon, falling to land on a tall mountain. Behind her, the twisted tree blazed, but did not char. "The Moon will set, leaving Fire for the Clan,"a voice whispered. Suddenly, a large bird made of fire rose from the burning tree, screeching.A large golden ray of sunshine suddenly touched the island, and the apprentice woke up. The words still rang in her ears, repeatedly whispering, "Moon. . .set. . .Fire. . .Clan."

**If you want your OC in this story, reply with the cat's name, gender, description, rank and any other information you would like me to know. I may just add them in :P**


	4. Training

**I do not own Warriors, their cats, or their clans**.

**Shadowsong's POV **

Shadowsong poked at the grumpy apprentice. "Silverpaw. GET UP." she growled. The apprentice hissed and reluctantly got up. "Why did you wake me up?" Silverpaw spat, stretching. "I was having a dream about sleeping in a nice warm bed!" Shadowsong scowled. "You'll never become a warrior if you are lazy! Perhaps you should give up and become a kittypet." The two cats trained in silence, anger radiating from their pelts. Silverpaw was the first to break the silence. "I'm hungry," he whined. "Can we eat?" Shadowsong replied with a stern "No." She padded away towards the warrior's den, but before she reached it, she paused and glanced back at Silverpaw. "We are done for today."

Shadowsong peeked into Moonstar's den. "Hello? Moonstar?" Soon the leader emerged from the shadows. "Yes?" she replied. Shadowsong sighed. "Good, you're here. I need to talk to you about something. . ." The starry black she-cat told Moonstar about her argument with Silverpaw. "I-I don't think he has what it takes to be a warrior," Shadowsong concluded. "There wasn't a drop of ambition in his eyes." Moonstar nodded in understanding. "I see. There is nothing we can do to change that." The leader looked up at the roof of her rocky cave. "Perhaps it was not meant to be." She looked around, as if afraid some other cat was watching, and then summoned Shadowsong into the depths of the den. "If it helps, I will tell you something. . . I-it's about Phoenixpaw." Shadowsong stared, a puzzled look in her eyes. "I saw you training today. He perfected those techniques as if he had done them before!" Moonstar sighed. "That's just it," she meowed. "He has." Shadowsong tilted her head in confusion, as if looking at her mentor sideways made her words clearer. "What do you mean?" she replied. Moonstar cautiously padded up to her deputy and whispered "He is Firestar." Shadowsong had heard of this cat- of his many accomplishments and his great reputation. Unfortunately, many were heartbroken when they learned of his demise. "THE Firestar? The leader that revived SkyClan?" Shadowsong whispered back as quietly as she could. The blue-grey cat nodded. Shadowsong sat down as amazement, confusion and disbelief washed over her like a wave. "That kit. . . THAT KIT. . .is THE FIRESTAR?" she whispered to herself. Firestar resided in their camp.


	5. Runaway apprentice

**I do not own Warriors, their cats, or their clans.**

**Shadowsong's POV**

"Silverpaw?" Shadowsong yowled. The starry she-cat had searched all around camp searching for the lazy apprentice. She rushed over to Moonstar, who was training with Phoenixpaw. "Moonstar! Silverpaw is gone!" Shadowsong panted, out of breath. Both Moonstar and Phoenixpaw looked at her with concern. "I searched every den and every corner of this island and I still didn't find him!" she continued. Phoenixpaw looked at Shadowsong and mewed "I think I have an idea where he might be." The fiery orange apprentice bolted towards the clan entrance. He turned around, checking to see if the deputy was following. "Come on! We have no time to waste!" Shadowsong followed the kit across the lake towards a nearby Twolegplace. "H-he's in here?" Shadowsong mewed nervously. Phoenixpaw looked at her and whispered "I know from experience that his personality is the kind that would abandon the path to warriordom." Shadowsong nodded, and leaped onto the fence. "Run back to camp and tell Moonstar, ok?" Shadowsong yowled at Phoenixpaw as he bolted back towards camp. The starry black she-cat ran along the fence, calling for Silverpaw. She ran all the way until the line of fences ended. She looked down and sighed, disappointed. Shadowsong was padding back along the fences when she saw a cat out of the corner of her eye. It was Silverpaw! "Silverpaw!" Shadowsong called. "Thank StarClan I found you!" The apprentice looked up at his mentor. "I'm not Silverpaw anymore," he growled. "My housefolk call me Milo." Shadowsong almost fell off the fence in disbelief. The apprentice had abandoned the clan to become a kittypet. The deputy lashed out at the lazy tom. "Fine. Have it your way. You were too fat and lazy to be an elder!" she spat, then bolted off towards the clan. She ran as fast as her paws could take her, her speed fueled by rage.


	6. Discovery

**I do not own Warriors, their cats, or their clans.**

**Shadowsong's POV**

Shadowsong laid down in her special deputy den. The rage that had consumed her had subsided, getting replaced by grief. It was HER fault that Silverpaw left- HER fault that he was a kittypet. She had failed her mentor. The starry black she cat climbed out of the clan and padded to the shore. The water lapped quietly at her paws. She looked up at the star-speckled sky and whispered "Sometimes I wish I could fly away." Shadowsong looked down at the ground and closed her eyes. Pale blue smoke coiled out of her eyes, yet she didn't notice. The black she-cat imagined herself flying free as a bird, not bound by grief or rage or pain. She opened her eyes and stared at the sky. 'No cat can fly, Shadowsong.' she told herself. She looked at her reflection and cawed, "However. . . A bird can!" She had somehow become a large black bird- a raven. She spread her wings and took to the skies. The wind ruffled her feathers and calmed her. Shadowsong felt free. 'ShapeShifting,' she thought. 'That is what this will be called.'

**Sorry, I know it's really short, but trust me! The next chapter is almost here!**


	7. Shadow's Crush

**I do not own Warriors, their cats or their clans.**

"Shadowsong! Where have you been?" Moonstar meowed as her deputy wandered into the camp. Shadowsong looked up to see the blue-grey leader running towards her. "I was. . . Catching prey!" the deputy lied. Moonstar narrowed her eyes. "You don't have any prey, nor do you smell of prey." she pointed out. "Well. . . I was unsuccessful! I didn't see a single animal. It WAS late at night." Shadowsong replied. Moonstar opened her mouth to respond, but before she could ask any more questions, Shadowsong changed the subject. "So! How's the training going?" Moonstar growled in annoyance, but nodded and meowed, "Fine." Shadowsong smiled a bit and padded off. The deputy began sneaking out no less than once a day. She would take to the skies as a bird, swim to the depths of the lake as a fish, and sneak around in the forests as a fox. Shadowsong loved her new ability. One day, she was flying over the mainland when she came across ThunderClan. As she perched in a nearby tree and rested her tired wings, the starry cat saw a cat that caught her eye. It was a grey tabby tom with beautiful blue eyes. Shadowsong felt feelings in her heart that she had never felt before. . . she had a crush. She quickly flew back to PhoenixClan- she was already gone for too long. Soon, she started visiting ThunderClan. She had to know more about this handsome tom. That's when she remembered. "Phoenixpaw," Shadowsong mewed. "Do you know a grey tabby tom with beautiful blue eyes?" The apprentice looked at her and mewed, "Do you mean Jayfeather?" The deputy nodded, "I guess. What can you tell me about him?" "Well. . . He is blind," Phoenixpaw began. "And he has the ability to walk in dreams as well as time travel when sleeping. He is the Clan medicine cat." "Thank you!" Shadowsong mewed before returning to her den. "Wait," he said. Phoenixpaw padded up to the deputy and whispered as quietly as possible "Do you like him?!" The stars on Shadowsong's pelt turned a pale pink as her face turned red in embarrassment. Phoenixpaw chuckled in amusement at the cat as he padded away.


End file.
